India vs South Africa 2015: Is JP Duminy new 'Mr. Dependable' for Proteas?

India vs South Africa series will begin from 2 October.

Sep 30, 2015 21:31 IST

South African all-rounders have always played a crucial role during their tours in the Indian sub-continent. None would be able to forget what Jacques Kallis used to do during such tours. Kallis was equally dependable with the bat as well as the ball. One player that can make a difference in this upcoming series against India is JP Duminy.

Duminy, who will be an integral member of the T20 squad, recently smashed 68 runs from 32 balls against India A in the warm-up game at Palam in New Delhi. He could not do much with the ball but managed to pick up a wicket when India A were cruising during the run chase.

His all-round abilities make him a dangerous player in the South African middle-order and as well as with the ball during or after the powerplay overs, where he can curb the run rate. His knack of picking up crucial wickets at intervals is also highly regarded by the Proteas coach Russell Domingo.

Here are some facts that Team India and their fans needs to have a look at:

1. His home statistics are not as great as his away ones. Duminy averages over 40 in the shortest format of the game and also has five 50+ scores in the overseas.

2. Duminy is a leading run scorer for South Africa in the T20 format and he also holds the record for scoring the most number of half centuries (seven) for the Proteas in the shortest format of the international game.

3. Duminy does not hold a good batting record against India. He could only score 75 runs in five T20 international games at a strike rate of 92.6.

Depending on this trivia, one can surely not refer him to be the new 'Mr. Dependable' for South Africa but he can be a dangerous player in these Indian conditions. Duminy has played a lot of cricket in India when it comes to the Indian Premier League (IPL). He knows these conditions pretty well and he can implement that experience during the upcoming series.